A Balanced Life?

Friday night came and my life was unbalanced or at least my cash drawer was.  I was frustrated and of course late getting home.

• Today my life seems very balanced.  
• Ron and I went for a bike ride, watched some tv and I did laundry while he napped.

Tonight while Ron was at work I started planning our winter vacation.  Ron just called to ask what days to ask for holidays.  Sounds perfectly balanced to me.

Once again I have a five day weekend and Ron and I will travel to the mountains after Ron finishes work early Monday morning and wejust may take a dip at the hot springs.

Yes, I have a very balanced life now ...as long as I stay away from my cash drawer.

Five Day Weekend

As I left work tonight I almost felt giddy.  I'm starting the long weekend early.  It was relaxing this evening to think about not going to work in the morning.  As I crawled into bed I didn't feel as tired as usual because I know that I can have a slower morning.  Ron is finishing up nights tonight and so tomorrow we will be off and running to do errands together.   First we will be headed to Red Deer to pick up some things for the motorcycle, do a little shopping for house improvements and of course a Costco stop to get groceries for the weekend.   We have to be back early in the evening for me to have some magic done by my hair stylist.  She can make gray hair disappear!

On Friday I will get the baking done...pumpkin pie, apple pie and....well, I guess we will see how much energy I have.  On Saturday our guests will arrive with one of them being Stephen!  It is always fun to have family come and I get excited every time.

So tonight I will fall asleep with pumpkins, apples and shopping dancing around in my head.  Happy Thanksgiving and may all your weekends be long ones!

Enjoying the New Schedule

I started this week with my new schedule at work which means I work more according to Ron's schedule.  On Monday, I went to work and it was great because at the end of the day I knew that I had two days off.

On Tuesday, Ron and I left in the morning for Red Deer to get the motorcycle serviced.  It was a tad bit cold...only 4 degrees.  I was layered up and enjoyed the fall scenery.  Yes, the prairie has scenery!  While we waited for the motorcycle to be done we walked and enjoyed a nice brunch.  By then the day had warmed up nicely and we headed west. 

We were able to shed some layers and enjoy the warmth of a fall day.  Once we got past Rocky Mountain House the mountains jumped out at us and you couldn't help but smile at the beauty that surrounded us.  There is nothing like the aqua colour of the mountain lakes and the majestic Rocky Mountains.  We felt like we had the park to ourselves.

Ron would stop when I wanted to but most of the time I snapped pictures happily around him.  We were so thrilled to have such a nice day for a ride.

This was the first time that we had entered the mountains this way.  The Icefield Parkway was spectacular and I am sure that we will be doing it again....next year.  The higher we found ourselves in the mountain the lower the temperature dropped.  We stopped to gear up and reluctantly I gave up the camera for my gloves but even though the temperature had fallen the sights around me kept me happy.

One final stop before heading home was Stephen's.  It was so nice to be able to call him and say put the tea kettle on.  We warmed up with a hot cup of tea and made it home around 9:00 p.m.   It was a perfect day to have off.

On Wednesday we headed into Calgary for the day.  Ron had a first of getting his hair cut and a hot shave by a barber at a men's only shop.  He quite enjoyed the experience.

We spent the rest of the day getting the tires changed on the truck and a little bit of shopping.  On our way home I just had to stop to take a picture of the prairie field wrapping up for winter. 

 

And the sun set on another beautiful day...

I think I am going to like this work schedule!

Not So Fast

Well so I thought I was going into retirement again but not so fast.  On Friday, the manager and supervisor called me into the office.  They wanted to know if I would go casual.  It caused me to think....perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.   After some discussion they decided to go along with Ron's schedule as much as they could.  I couldn't refuse that.  So for all of October I have the same days off as Ron.  Next week I have two days off with him.  It's making me feel like I am a little more in control.  I am super thankful for a team at work that saw the potential in me before I could even imagine being successful there.  So I going to give it a try once again.


I had another birthday this week.  The time goes way to fast between them now.  Ron brought two dozen roses home for me.  He worked that night so we didn't do anything special but I did get to FaceTime with my wonderful friend, Catherine.  It has been a week of ups and downs.  I was alone for part of it, quit my job, had a wonderful dinner out with Howard and Hilda, was wished many birthday wishes, had cake at work, got a fresh start at work and now enjoying a restful weekend.  All I know is that time flies by way too fast and it is good to try and slow down and enjoy the great moments.  Looking forward to my days off with Ron....so, I quit?  Not so fast!

I Quit!

I've never done it before...oh, I have left jobs but it was always with the reason of moving or accepting another position.  This time it was different.  I tried so hard but each day I would be so stressed by the end of the day.  I could feel my blood pressure rising and my chest hurting.  I knew that it just wasn't good so I made the decision to quit.  My last day will be October 9th.  Thankfully I have a super supportive husband.  And thankfully I had our most wonderful and dear friends stop in to spend the evening with me.

Howard and Hilda are friends from way back and they have been a constant support to us over the years.  They were on their way through the province and stopped to take me out for supper and spend the night.  It was so great to see them even if it was too short of a visit.

So another journey begins for me....where will it lead me?  To another position or pajamas and a good book?

Reliving the Summer

It always seems that the summer goes by way too fast and this summer seems like a blur.  So much has happened and for me it went from a quiet life to lots of people and places.  If we jump back a few months you would have found me sitting in northern Saskatchewan where we expected to be for another year.  Quickly things began to change.

• the first week of May....bought a house in Three Hills, Alberta
• 2nd week of May....in the Yukon with Stephen and driving south on the Alaskan Highway
• 3rd week of May....back in Deschambault Lake with Stephen
• 4th week of May....Ontario for Daniel and Leah Cooke's wedding
• 1st week of June....in Ontario
• 2nd week of June....back in Saskatchewan with Emma and Jacob
• 3rd week of June....camping in Manitoba with Emma and Jacob
• 4th week of June...moving from Saskatchewan to Alberta with Emma and Jacob

• 1st week of July...taking possession of our new home with Sarah, Ron started working in the Three Hills detachment
• 2nd week of July...setting up the house
• 3rd week of July...Leah and Daniel move into our home
• 4th week of July....Cheryl comes for a visit
• 1st week of August....road trip with Ron, Cheryl and Sarah
• 2nd week of August....start training for my new job in Red Deer and flood in our basement
• 3rd week of August....more training and start on-the-job training in Three Hills
• 4th week of August....working, figuring out our basement issues
• 1st week of September...Stephen took possession of his new house 
• 2nd week of September...Ron's sister came for a visit and they go for a motorcycle ride
• 3rd week of September...Daniel and Leah move out
• 4th week of September...Ron leaves for training in Edmonton and I am home alone!

So yes, it has been a busy summer but I have to go back a few weeks to relive some special times.  I have already blogged about our grandchildren being here and how much fun it was to have them with us but a very special time was when Cheryl came for 10 days.  We had planned this a few years ago but it didn't happen and now it became a reality.  It was so much fun to have her here.

Our first big adventure was a road trip with just her and I and Sarah.  We headed south to Kananaskis.  I had hardly driven in the last two years so that was pretty exciting all by itself.  It was a beautiful day.

We enjoyed the drive, a lunch by a mountain stream, wildlife and lots of girl talk.  It was a wonderful day.  The next few days we explored around Three Hills and Drumheller and I did a couple of baking demonstrations.  Then Ron had some days off and back in the truck we went.

Lunch in Banff

Gondola Ride in Banff

A dip in Radium Hot Springs

Beautiful drive through the mountains, stopping at all border signs because that is what you have to do!  Thankfully we talked Cheryl out of all the Information Stops.

Enjoying the moments, the scenery and the company.

Some things I knew for sure about Cheryl :

• she is one of my dearest friends who understands me
• gives great advice
• enjoys tea
• loves a bargain and a hotel that includes breakfast

And now

• I know that she likes to have the air conditioning on and the blinds pulled in a hotel room
• and that she LOVES to take LOTS of pictures

Thanks Cheryl for making my summer complete....now to plan our next adventure!

Prairie Bride

Life on the prairie is full of new adventures and lots of different emotions as I try to settle into the routine of work again.  It was hard to see Ron leave last week on a bike trip without me but I was thankful that he could spend time with his sister.

They had a good trip...traveling over 1500 km through Alberta. Montana and B.C.  Ron brought me back a little gift from a stop in Fort Steele.

It was kind of confusing to pull out this ring.  It is not unusual for Ron to buy me jewellery but this wasn't up to his usual standard.  It wasn't until I read the card with it that it all made sense and I was touched by his gift.  I feel like a true Prairie bride after all these years of marriage and am proud of my prairie diamond.

Tonight Ron is working and this is the very first night that I have been in this house by myself.  Leah and Daniel moved out today and so Ron and I will be back to just the two of us.  We have not had that since April.

As for my work....well it has been different.  It is such a new thing for me and it has been a huge learning curve.  Yesterday, in my frustration, I quit.  I had been to the doctor the night before and had been told that with my risk factors  I had just over 25 percent chance of having a heart attack in the next ten years.  The day had been so busy and I felt my anxiety pick up.  I finally had had enough.  I didn't want the stress of the work environment increase my odds.  I felt pretty good for awhile...very satisfied with my decision.  Once my supervisor and manager had a chance to digest my decision they began to discuss with me how they could get me to stay.  I decided to give it a little longer but I did ask for Friday off to destress and hopefully enjoy a little motorcycle ride.

So my goal for the next little while is to try and relax more, worry less, eat better, and exercise more in order to reduce the health risks.  The positive side is that I have 75 percent of not having a heart attack.  That's honours!